It's been a staggering 10 years since Red Dwarf last graced our scenes, but Craig Charles, Chris Barrie, Danny John Jules and Robert Llewellyn are finally back. Red Dwarf: Back To Earth lands on Dave this Easter weekend, so we got Robert 'Kryten' Llewellyn on the two-way to find out what we could about the iconic show's return.

How did the special come about?
"Basically, Doug Naylor has been trying to make a Red Dwarf movie for the past 10 years and then decided that we might as well try for a series. It was a lovely convergence of events - the Red Dwarf repeats had been doing well, and then people talked to Doug and that's how it came about. It was all set up before we knew about it."

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There were rumours about a comeback for many years - why didn't it happen sooner?
"I think Doug has been very involved, but it's been a 10 year gap and we'd all moved on and done other things. From our point of view, it came around as a surprise. It wasn't like two years ago we heard rumours - the first phone call I got was when we were doing it! It was a big surprise for us."

What can you tell us about the plot? Things have been kept quite quiet...
"We don't want to give it away, but the title gives you something. We do come back to Earth and try to find out why people have heard of us and know who we are - and there's twist that I don't want to give away. Obviously it leaked to the press that we'd filmed on the Coronation Street set."

Does the story follow on from the end of the last series back in 1999?
"Well, it is referred to that it has been nine or 10 years since the last moments. We've had a huge amount of adventures and we've learnt nothing - we're still the same bunch of useless, half-baked space bums that we always were!"

So what has changed?
"The visual effects are brilliant now. It's all breath-taking and we can't believe it's us on it - it looks extraordinary! It's all state of the art CGI stuff. Five years ago it was rubbish, but now it's remarkable. It looks like we're in a nine-mile-long spaceship! There have been big changes in terms of production."

How hard was it to slip back into character after so many years?
"It was absurdly easy! We all said we feel like we've had a 10 week holiday, not a 10 year break. When we did the read-through I felt a bit wobbly, but as soon as we got into the studio and into costume, it was automatic. We had a brilliant time and I hope it comes across on screen."

Were there any downsides to returning to the show?
"It's a hard show to make. I've done ones that involve danger and hardship, but nothing remotely as tough as Red Dwarf. It's the toughest gig I've ever had, and the crew and production said the same. It's a very ambitious show to make on a relatively small budget. The money definitely goes on the screen - there's no luxury behind the scenes!"

Do you think this wraps up the series nicely or is there scope for more?
"I think the simple truth is that it's a self-contained trilogy, but it doesn't end abruptly. If it's well received, there's a possibility we could do more. The difficulty is that we're all busy doing other things, so we have to plan quite carefully. We've all really enjoyed doing it - there were moments where it was a nightmare, but we had a great time working together."

Have you heard anything about a film or a full series?
"No - it's all up for discussion. There are no plans that we're aware of, but I'd be interested. I had genuinely forgotten what a great time we all had. I've seen the guys regularly over the years but I don't think we'd been together like that for 10 years. It was brilliant fun - more than we'd ever had. We get on really well and it's like hanging out with your best mates."